Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The first table below shows changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables show changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Three tables illustrate the variation in the total populace of of New York and the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) from 1800 to 2000.

Overall, number of population in New York city has surged. Whereas the proportion Manhattan city increased as compare to other districts.

On the one hand, tables depict the higher number of proportion in the New York city which is 79,216 in 1800 and took a high jump of number with 3,437,202 in 1900 and 8,009,185 in 2000. On the other hand, Manhattan City stood on the lowest number of variation as compare to others. Furthermore, it has 60,515 number of population in 1800 and with a low rise it stood on 1,538,096 in 2000. Nevertheless, in 1800 the populace in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island took tremendous surge which is 24% in 1800, 46% in 1900 and 81% in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad rise in New York City’s population and include several relevant figures, including the total in 1800 and 2000 and Manhattan’s population. However, the overview contains a major reversal: Manhattan’s share fell from 76% to 19%, rather than increasing relative to the other districts. The response also confuses population totals with percentages, describing the city’s total as a “number of proportion” and giving the other districts’ shares without their population figures. Manhattan’s 1900 figure and the key contrast between its decline after 1900 and the continued growth elsewhere are omitted. The response is 142 words, below the 150-word minimum; develop the comparisons accurately and include the missing stage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph presenting details. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Furthermore” signal relationships between points. However, progression is not consistently clear. “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” set up a contrast, but the following information does not explain that contrast precisely, and “Nevertheless” introduces figures that do not logically oppose the preceding point. The overview’s claim about Manhattan also conflicts with the later description. Group the information by trend—for example, total population first, then Manhattan versus the other districts—and use linking expressions only where their relationship is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of vocabulary, including “surged,” “variation,” “populace,” and “tremendous surge,” and the topic is generally recognisable. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing statistical data: “number of proportion,” “higher number of proportion,” and “lowest number of variation” obscure whether you mean population or share. “Took a high jump of number” and “stood on” are also unsuitable collocations. Repetition of “number” and “surge” limits precision, while “Manhattan city” is not the appropriate label. Use straightforward, accurate terms such as “population,” “accounted for,” “rose,” and “fell,” distinguishing totals from percentages throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use some simple sentences and attempt more complex forms, including the contrast beginning “Whereas” and the sentence starting “Nevertheless.” However, control is inconsistent, and several sentence patterns are incomplete or awkward. “Overall, number of population in New York city has surged” is missing an article and has an unnatural noun construction; “Whereas the proportion Manhattan city increased…” is a fragment and lacks a clear grammatical relationship. In “it has 60,515 number of population,” the structure is also faulty, and the final sentence’s time reference is confusing. Check articles, sentence completeness, and subject–verb relationships, and use a clear past-tense pattern to report each year. More accurate simple sentences would improve clarity before adding complex structures.

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